I managed to get a run in tonight despite a trying day at work. Today was one of those days where I felt like all I did was run around putting out fires, and didn't have much to show for all of that running at the end of the day. I am working 1st shift right now (about 20 people in my packaging department), and as the shift supervisor, some days I feel like I am a Romper Room coordinator. It is amazing to me that grown men and women can be so petty and immature. There seems to constantly be some kind of drama going on between employees and conflict between people who work together. Combine those issues with working in a dynamic, fast-paced, and results driven environment and you get a feel for the chaos that I preside over on a daily basis.
I was very tired when I got home, but it was just so damn nice out that I had to go out for a run. It was probably in the upper 60's when I left, and by the time that I returned from running 4 miles, the temperature had probably dropped about 5 degrees or so. It was about 7:10pm when I got back so it was pretty much dark. Tonight's run was very cathartic. I was able to purge the trials of the workday, and get into that training zone where you feel one with the road, and your heart, legs and mind all seem to function as one. I came back feeling very refreshed.
"When you're on the edge and falling off, it's all over." - Three Days Grace from "It's All Over"
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Busy Days, Tired Nights, and Random Musings
Well, I haven't done so well since my last post. I haven't run again or made it back to the gym. I ended up putting in 50+ hours at work last week, and then had to go in on Saturday for five hours as well since we were running production over the weekend. The nice thing is that it's generally pretty quiet at work on a Saturday, and I can get a lot of things done. You know those little nagging things that you always want to get to, but never seem to have time to do. Not that working a lot of hours is an excuse, because I managed to train for all of my marathons while working almost as much. The long hours just make getting back into the habit that much more difficult. I get up for work around 4:30am and generally don't get home from work until around 4:30 or 5:00pm, by which time I am pretty much drained physically and mentally. The days when I drag myself outside to run or to the gym despite my fatigue, I always do feel more energized afterward, but it's just making a recurring habit of it that seems to be difficult.
I ended up going to the mountains on Sunday to shoot my new deer rifle (a Ruger Model 77 MKII 30-06 bolt-action....eh, eh). I've always wanted to own a 30-06, and I finally broke down and bought one about a month ago. I have been itching to shoot it ever since, and boy was it fun. There is nothing quite like the feel of a high-powered rifle kicking back into your shoulder. The bullet exits the muzzle at like 3200 feet per second which is like two times the speed of sound (again eh, eh). It will easily take down any bucks that cross my path next month, in addition to any trees that happen to get in the way. Ha, ha.
Anyhow, it was a gorgeous Fall day outside that started off with a chilly and crisp morning that warmed into the low 60s by the afternoon. The sky was blue, the trees were showing the first signs of color, and I was surrounded by lush Pennsylvania woodlands. As I get older, I realize how much I love being in the mountains: the smell of the clean air, the scent of the pines, the sounds of birds and crickets. More importantly, I got to spend some quality time alone with my Dad. As he and I both get older, I appreciate and treasure this time together more and more. I have come to realize that there is going to come a day when he won't be there anymore, and I want to make every moment we're together count. He is such an amazing person who has so much wisdom to offer, and I can only hope to ever be half the man that he is.
My Dad would do anything for anyone, and never expect a thing in return. He is everything that a person should be, and I admire him more than any other person in the world. I love listening to him tell me who used to live in a certain house, and how they would visit, or what a building was used for thirty years ago, or what the road was like before the bypass was put in, etc, etc. He seems to know every landmark, building and road in Pennsylvania. He is full of so much knowledge, and much of what he knows is lost on my generation. I fear that much of this knowledge will not be passed along so I try to learn all that I can. He grew up on a farm, and he knows so much about farming, hunting, plants, crops, and wildlife. All of those things that with all of our modern technology and urbanization we seem to have stopped caring about and forgotten. The more crazy that life and this world gets, the more that I long for a simpler, more carefree time. I wish to "live simply" as Henry David Thoreau once said. The simple joys in life are truly what make living worthwhile. If all we have in our life is our career, cell phone, internet, and television, then we are truly lost. For the most part, all of these things are devoid of any true value, and we tend to overvalue their importance in our lives.
I apologize for the tirade, but it's these types of thoughts and feelings that I have been having lately as I become more and more disillusioned with our modern world. I have lived in the same small town for the last four years, and in that time have seen no fewer than six new housing developments spring up with more on the way. Along with the houses come the WalMarts, convenience stores, gas stations, and the overcrowding and traffic congestion that go along with them. I watch as the fields, farms, and woodlands that give my homeland its pastoral charm is razed to make way for more overpriced houses that probably won't even be standing in 50 years. I find it very disheartening, and the worst thing is that no one seems to be doing anything about it. It's as if the momentum of "progress" is just too strong to overcome so we ignore it while we drive our 15mpg SUVs and complain about the price of gas. I'm not against building new things, but I feel that it's important to strike a balance between building and preserving, and to build sensibly. As long as the builders keep raking in the cash, and the local governments don't work to curb the behavior, nothing is going to slow down the scourge of overdevelopment and urban sprawl.
I guess that running has always been a way for me to get in touch with the naturalist inside me, and with running currently not playing as prominent a role in my life as it has over the last several years, I guess that my naturalistic side is manifesting itself in other ways. I was just thinking to myself this weekend that at heart I think I long to be a trail runner and spend all of my time running up and down mountains. This would certainly combine my two greatest passions: running and a love of the wilderness. A new path for me perhaps?
I ended up going to the mountains on Sunday to shoot my new deer rifle (a Ruger Model 77 MKII 30-06 bolt-action....eh, eh). I've always wanted to own a 30-06, and I finally broke down and bought one about a month ago. I have been itching to shoot it ever since, and boy was it fun. There is nothing quite like the feel of a high-powered rifle kicking back into your shoulder. The bullet exits the muzzle at like 3200 feet per second which is like two times the speed of sound (again eh, eh). It will easily take down any bucks that cross my path next month, in addition to any trees that happen to get in the way. Ha, ha.
Anyhow, it was a gorgeous Fall day outside that started off with a chilly and crisp morning that warmed into the low 60s by the afternoon. The sky was blue, the trees were showing the first signs of color, and I was surrounded by lush Pennsylvania woodlands. As I get older, I realize how much I love being in the mountains: the smell of the clean air, the scent of the pines, the sounds of birds and crickets. More importantly, I got to spend some quality time alone with my Dad. As he and I both get older, I appreciate and treasure this time together more and more. I have come to realize that there is going to come a day when he won't be there anymore, and I want to make every moment we're together count. He is such an amazing person who has so much wisdom to offer, and I can only hope to ever be half the man that he is.
My Dad would do anything for anyone, and never expect a thing in return. He is everything that a person should be, and I admire him more than any other person in the world. I love listening to him tell me who used to live in a certain house, and how they would visit, or what a building was used for thirty years ago, or what the road was like before the bypass was put in, etc, etc. He seems to know every landmark, building and road in Pennsylvania. He is full of so much knowledge, and much of what he knows is lost on my generation. I fear that much of this knowledge will not be passed along so I try to learn all that I can. He grew up on a farm, and he knows so much about farming, hunting, plants, crops, and wildlife. All of those things that with all of our modern technology and urbanization we seem to have stopped caring about and forgotten. The more crazy that life and this world gets, the more that I long for a simpler, more carefree time. I wish to "live simply" as Henry David Thoreau once said. The simple joys in life are truly what make living worthwhile. If all we have in our life is our career, cell phone, internet, and television, then we are truly lost. For the most part, all of these things are devoid of any true value, and we tend to overvalue their importance in our lives.
I apologize for the tirade, but it's these types of thoughts and feelings that I have been having lately as I become more and more disillusioned with our modern world. I have lived in the same small town for the last four years, and in that time have seen no fewer than six new housing developments spring up with more on the way. Along with the houses come the WalMarts, convenience stores, gas stations, and the overcrowding and traffic congestion that go along with them. I watch as the fields, farms, and woodlands that give my homeland its pastoral charm is razed to make way for more overpriced houses that probably won't even be standing in 50 years. I find it very disheartening, and the worst thing is that no one seems to be doing anything about it. It's as if the momentum of "progress" is just too strong to overcome so we ignore it while we drive our 15mpg SUVs and complain about the price of gas. I'm not against building new things, but I feel that it's important to strike a balance between building and preserving, and to build sensibly. As long as the builders keep raking in the cash, and the local governments don't work to curb the behavior, nothing is going to slow down the scourge of overdevelopment and urban sprawl.
I guess that running has always been a way for me to get in touch with the naturalist inside me, and with running currently not playing as prominent a role in my life as it has over the last several years, I guess that my naturalistic side is manifesting itself in other ways. I was just thinking to myself this weekend that at heart I think I long to be a trail runner and spend all of my time running up and down mountains. This would certainly combine my two greatest passions: running and a love of the wilderness. A new path for me perhaps?
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Back in the Groove
After running two marathon PRs in the Fall of 2005, my performance in the Spring of this year really fell off despite being just as fit if not more so. The generally warmer weather of the spring marathon season doesn't seem to suit me as well as the cooler fall temps. I actually ran my second slowest marathon time out of the eight that I have run in the spring of 2006. This was at the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN. I actually ran 15 minutes slower than my inaugural marathon time where I just wanted to finish with little regard to the time that I ran. What can I say; it was just one of those days. The only time that I've run slower was a spring marathon in 2005 where it was warm and humid, and I was running with a slight overuse injury that had pretty much prevented me from training the final two weeks.
This subpar performance combined with increasing stress/time spent at work and just general mental burnout really took a toll on my motivation. I was three weeks into training for the Richmond Marathon in November when I realized that my heart just wasn't into it. I scrapped the marathon training and told myself that I would concentrate on a local half-marathon and some other shorter races in the fall, but I just couldn't seem to stay on track and stick to any training program. What it all amounts to is that I haven't run more than once a week since the end of July, and I haven't run a single race since mid-July when I ran a local 5-miler.
This week I finally decided to get off the snide and make a concerted effort to get back to running and weight training. I have gained roughly eight pounds or so since the end of July. I'm only about 5' 8", so eight pounds is pretty noticeable on me. All of my clothes still fit, but needless to say, there are a few pairs of pants that are a little more snug than they used to be. I think that is what finally put me over the edge -- I'm not going up a waist size.
So, as my first foray back into the world of the fit and out of the realm of the fat, lazy slob I went for an easy 4-miler last night. It was warm yesterday (close to 80 degrees), but once the sun started to drop, the temperature went right along with it. By early evening the air was cool and comfortable so it was a perfect night for a run. I decided not to wear my HR monitor on my runs for a while as my elevated HR will do nothing but taunt me (heh, heh, you used to be in shape -- loser). I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much overall conditioning that I've retained. The endurance certainly isn't there, but I am still able to run 4 miles at the same pace as when I was marathon training. My legs did start to feel slightly fatigued, but they really aren't all that sore today.
Today, I went to the gym for the first time in almost two months. I must admit that it felt good to throw a little iron around. They got some nice new equipment (Hammer Strength) at the gym which I enjoyed beating around a little today. Time away from the gym has never really bothered me that much. I am stocky and pretty solidly built so I tend to pack on muscle pretty quickly. Again, I was surprised by how much strength I had retained. Some of the raw power was gone, but I was still able to use a respectable amount of weight for all of the exercises that I performed.
So it's been two consecutive days of working out (running and then weight training). Tomorrow I am planning to go for another run, and then I actually might play dek hockey on Thursday evening. I played hockey for about twelve years in high school/college/after college but gave it up about six years ago. I recently picked up the stick again, but I don't have any plans to get too serious about it. The chance of physical disfigurement is just too great (I'm already plenty ugly thank you), and it's not like I'm getting paid to sacrifice my body. A coworker plays on a team that is short of guys so he put me on the team and told me to show up when I can. I told him that I won't make every game as I'm just not that into it.
Anyway, I must admit that it feels good to be back in the groove. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going.
This subpar performance combined with increasing stress/time spent at work and just general mental burnout really took a toll on my motivation. I was three weeks into training for the Richmond Marathon in November when I realized that my heart just wasn't into it. I scrapped the marathon training and told myself that I would concentrate on a local half-marathon and some other shorter races in the fall, but I just couldn't seem to stay on track and stick to any training program. What it all amounts to is that I haven't run more than once a week since the end of July, and I haven't run a single race since mid-July when I ran a local 5-miler.
This week I finally decided to get off the snide and make a concerted effort to get back to running and weight training. I have gained roughly eight pounds or so since the end of July. I'm only about 5' 8", so eight pounds is pretty noticeable on me. All of my clothes still fit, but needless to say, there are a few pairs of pants that are a little more snug than they used to be. I think that is what finally put me over the edge -- I'm not going up a waist size.
So, as my first foray back into the world of the fit and out of the realm of the fat, lazy slob I went for an easy 4-miler last night. It was warm yesterday (close to 80 degrees), but once the sun started to drop, the temperature went right along with it. By early evening the air was cool and comfortable so it was a perfect night for a run. I decided not to wear my HR monitor on my runs for a while as my elevated HR will do nothing but taunt me (heh, heh, you used to be in shape -- loser). I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much overall conditioning that I've retained. The endurance certainly isn't there, but I am still able to run 4 miles at the same pace as when I was marathon training. My legs did start to feel slightly fatigued, but they really aren't all that sore today.
Today, I went to the gym for the first time in almost two months. I must admit that it felt good to throw a little iron around. They got some nice new equipment (Hammer Strength) at the gym which I enjoyed beating around a little today. Time away from the gym has never really bothered me that much. I am stocky and pretty solidly built so I tend to pack on muscle pretty quickly. Again, I was surprised by how much strength I had retained. Some of the raw power was gone, but I was still able to use a respectable amount of weight for all of the exercises that I performed.
So it's been two consecutive days of working out (running and then weight training). Tomorrow I am planning to go for another run, and then I actually might play dek hockey on Thursday evening. I played hockey for about twelve years in high school/college/after college but gave it up about six years ago. I recently picked up the stick again, but I don't have any plans to get too serious about it. The chance of physical disfigurement is just too great (I'm already plenty ugly thank you), and it's not like I'm getting paid to sacrifice my body. A coworker plays on a team that is short of guys so he put me on the team and told me to show up when I can. I told him that I won't make every game as I'm just not that into it.
Anyway, I must admit that it feels good to be back in the groove. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Prologue
Having fun running my marathon PR in Harrisburg - November 2005It seems like having a blog is the "in" thing to do these days, but that isn't the reason why I have decided to start my own. I am generally not the type of person to do things just because everyone else thinks it's cool. Those days of blind conformity are over for me. No, the reason that I have chosen to venture down this new path is that I feel like I may be reaching a turning point in my life and I felt that this was a novel way to record my thoughts and feelings along the way.
I have reached a sort of crossroads in life's journey, and I'm not exactly sure which path that I want to take. In fact, I'm not really clear as to which paths are available to me at this point. I feel that we generally live our lives in phases or eras and that I may be reaching the end of one era and the beginning of another. I have been thinking a lot about where I am and where I am headed. I just feel like there is so much left for me to do and accomplish in life, and meanwhile life is quickly passing me by while I am held hostage by the daily grind.
These thoughts and feelings are what compelled me to start this blog. We only get one chance on this massive, spinning rock. I am not content to just sit idly by and watch the precious gift of my time on Earth slip by uneventfully. I only have until the end of my days to build the legacy that I will leave behind forever. My time here is short and the clock is ticking. I intend to make my mark. This blog will chronicle my quest.
"It's easy to say I can. I want to be able to say I did."
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